11710 MacArthur Blvd., Potomac, MD 20854.

Preserving America's colorful Canal era and transportation history, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park is 184.5 miles of adventure. Originally, the C&O Canal was a lifeline for communities and businesses along the Potomac River as coal, lumber, grain and other agricultural products floated down the canal to market.

Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center is open year round, seven days per week from 9 AM to 4:30 PM.

The Great Falls of the Potomac have drawn people to the river's shore for centuries. To Native Americans it was a gathering place, to George Washington it was an impediment to navigation, to thousands of visitors every year it is a awe-inspiring site.

Tourists have been drawn to the Great Falls of the Potomac long before there was a canal. The Great Falls Tavern carries on a long tradition of hospitality for visitors to the C&O Canal.

Soon after the canal's ground breaking in 1828 construction began on the original lockhouse. In response to travelers' requests for shelter and a meal, the locktender here at Great Falls, W.W. Fenlon, asked the Canal Company to build the three-story north wing for a hotel.

Proposing himself as innkeeper but adding, 'Mrs. Felon is better calculated for Land Ladie,' he wrote. The hotel opened for business in 1831.

A community of over 100 people grew nearby with shops and a post office. The National Park Service offers interpretive programs year round and boat rides in the spring, summer and early fall.

Public Canal Boat Rides :

Ride along the historic C&O Canal in a boat pulled by mules. Experience rising 8 feet in a lock. Hear park rangers in period clothing describe what life was like for the families that lived and worked on the canal. Enjoy life at a slower pace.

Activities :

Backpacking
Bird Watching
Boating & Kayaking
Camping
Canal Quarters
Climbing
Cross Country Skiing
Fishing
Hiking & Biking
Horseback Riding
Nature Walks
Wildlife Viewing


-- A mule is a hybrid animal, a mix of a female horse (a mare) and a male donkey (a jack). The mule is the superior work animal, preferred by canal boat captains on the C&O Canal.

-- Transporting goods and people by canal dates back to antiquity. The lock gates used on the C&O Canal were an adaptation of a design by Leonardo DaVinci in the late 1400's. Until the advent of the railroad, water travel was far superior to land travel.

>City(s) = Potomac; State(s) = MD; Country = USA.
>Title = The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal - Great Falls Tavern, Potomac, MD, US - Video.
>Keywords = The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, Great Falls Tavern, Potomac, MD, US, ourtripvideos, our, trip, videos, crlapindfrn, National Historical Park, River as coal, lumber, grain, Native Americans, George Washington, lockhouse, meal, locktender, Fenlon, canal Company, hotel, Public, Boat Rides, Nature Walks, VA (207)
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